Unknown location Arc Flash while racking a breaker

[hydrokid16]

Yeah don't laugh, this guy was killed.

[LINEHACKER]

What the hell? 150k? i have a phone tracer tool that can read a live/dead line from three feet away total cost 35 bucks,i only make 27k. it reads the emf even on an open line.FOR GOD SAKE EVERYONE THAT WORKS ON ANY ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT GO GET ONE. ANY SUPPLY HOUSE CARRIES THEM,OR STEAL IT FROM YOUR LOCAL PHONE PERSON. LEAVE PM FOR PART NUMBER/ DESCRIPTION

[katukatakato]

he has changed skin colours

[Legishchaos]

Прикурил бедолага!

[CobaltKris]

Nope, this is an incident at the Barranca Ecopetrol refinery in Colombia, it was fatal. You might be confused because it's featured in the safety video for the Palo Verde incident in Arizona.

[macedoadonias1]

Se os dois trabalhadores estivescem usando os equipametnos de proteção individual necessarios conforme manda as normas de segurança, não teria acontecido este tipo de acidente com vitimas fatais.

[stratdude83]

wow i think you can see him trying to run afterwards down the isle and cross over to the top left...scary stuff...

[TheTuCkeR643]

Did induction for power station 2 day. I watched this video. Apparently they were workin on the wrong bit of power station which was not isolated. Idiots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tylerwalker2]

RIP.... its is a something like 98% chance the guy died... either of the flash explosion or of the electricty going thru his body!

[Fourteen88SoCal]

HOLY SHIT!!!! :/ may that guy RIP

[ebutagig]

clean up in isle 2, bring a mop.

holy man, the most intense footage i've seen

[ebutagig]

clean up in isle 2, bring a mop

[adamtherio999]

This is why you wear a cal suit... Its hot as Satan's nuts in one but your good and protected.

[popceed]

Put anything conductive across those phases, and your a crispy critter.

[TheSigp220]

lol bootleg off some other site player to be put on youtube its brilliant haha

[deathowlhunter]

instant death, i hope he didnt feel it..

[Tamaslammer]

no protective gear = vaporized

[Anonymouzor]

oh god, he disappeared D:

[sirhc141]

That guy was toast, poor fucker, just doing his job.

[torkyaagba]

In performing the arc flash calculation for this installation, how could one have predicted an exposure time exceeding 2 seconds?

[WIDESIDE72]

An investigation determnined that the breaker was defective. It should have tripped out. He also was not wearing proper protective equipment. It is easy to get lax about PPE when you have racked breakers in hundreds odf times and nothing happened, but all it took was one time, unfortunately for him.

[somekidfromny]

I work in substations in NYC. We rack in and out breakers all day everyday for repairs out in the field. That breaker in the video should have tripped out the section in less than 5 cycles. We run on a 60 cycle AC circuit, meaning there are 60 cycles of a sine wave in 1 second. Our breakers trip in less than 3 cycles. In this video it looks like it took SECONDS for the section to trip. SECONDS is a LONG time when there is arcing. Also they are not wearing protective rubber gloves or face shields

[somekidfromny]

I also doubt their clothing is flame resistant, ours are. If it is possible to have the door for the cubicle to be closed while racking, it should have been closed. However not all switchgear is designed for the door to be closed- I know, a lot of our substations the door cannot be closed. It is also important to check that the charging feed for the breaker is removed so it does not accidentally close while racking, and it is important t verify the breaker is OPEN before racking so doesnt arc

[smartguy9765]

did he died?

[Drivinfast247]

@smartguy9765 stfu faggot.

[smartguy9765]

@Drivinfast247

You mad?

[nexgenhippy]

the guy survived. look up a vid called:

Arc Flash Incident Palo Verde Arizonia 2008

[YuriPRIME]

It's a ninja trick... he just got spotted by the guy in the lower right cornr and used a flash bomb

[jsoftj]

Happened in Bogota, breaker was left in the rain...

[sherpppa]

@jsoftj

It is true. This accident happens in Barrancabermeja Refineria fron EP in Colombia. Stop shiting, try to learn from this u guys.

[Brizboy60]

1st why the panel is open, for safety normally you close the panel and manually crank it.

[bedtimegirl654654]

What's racking?

[McDaedelus]

@bedtimegirl654654 It's the manual operation of a circuit breaker, using a hand crank or motor, instead of compressed air (in old units) or a big coil (in newer ones). It's only ever used for maintenance- opening up the switch contacts for inspection and cleaning.

Makes me very glad I'm an electronics tech and not a substation tech!

[codemsan]

@bedtimegirl654654 racking is mounting a breaker to its Bus Bar, which is VERY dangerous if the circuit is underload or energized

[sucksqueezebangblow]

remote rackers lol....look up helicopter line workers..they got there shit down pat

[a380rockerfan]

ouch

[MrJANTJE123]

is he dead??

[KINGvsMIND]

Лажанулись ребятки.

[dudewithbike]

This shit aint funny man. People DIE doing this. Proper training and PPE only do so much to protect somebody. This happens all to often, even WITH the proper procedures in place. All negative comments about this type of accident are uncalled for, ignorant and in bad taste. Go back to flipping burgers for 3 bucks an hour. Ill stay here and make 150G a year.

[dysynnigoosebusters]

@dudewithbike I have a ton of respect for the guys that do this... but 150k a year?? for this amount of danger? Some IT guys get more than that and they barely handle more than 240v on a daily basis...

[Yokozuna75]

@dudewithbike With You 110% Arc Flash Is No Joke It Happend To A Friend Of Mines And He Was Badly Hurt With Bad Burns To His Face And Arms He Couid Of DIED From This And This Type Of Accident Shows The Dangers These Men Face Every Day Of Thier Lives This Is NOT A JOKE

[PaulSAUK]

I'm an electrician and I work in a data center I crap myself whenever i'm racking out too we have to do it live otherwise we lose the streams and the data racks drop out

[KrK007]

Fatality!

I doubt more protective gear would of done the trick. They need to use one of those remote rackers.

[KrK007]

Fatality!

[wowOKlol]

thumbs down for re-recording and re-posting another youtube vid.  Boo

[ristin59]

I work in Asco gear, this video gives me the shivers every time I watch it.

No matter how many times we check the buss, I still get the puckers when we rack in a breaker back into the gear.

Over the years, I've seen Murphy show up to enforce his law.

I hope the guy survived.

[Yoteyawezekana]

@ristin59 survived? as 1 pound of ash plus the hard hat maybe

[felobn]

Soy electricista de Chile, y esas maniobras las hacemos muchas veecs dentro de nuestras rutinas. es bueno analizar estos videos para tomar las precauciones devidas al realizar estos trabajos tan peligrosos

__

I'm an electrician, Chile, and many do these maneuvers the veecs within our routines. analyze these videos is good to take precautions Devidas to do these jobs as dangerous

[JaMMeRHiLL]

He should have had on more protective clothing while racking in that breaker. Especially on a live bus! There's no doubt that he got burned badly if he even survived! Arc Flashes are awesomely powerful they superheat the air and will melt steel instantly! If your in the way too fukn bad for you!

[PLCJockey]

@JaMMeRHiLL - agreed. I doubt he survived really. Regulations where I work stipulate that anyone working on live gear has to wear suitably rated arc flash clothing.

[dangaz4x4]

Palo Verde Water Reclamation Facility in Arizona USA.

13.8kV. ouch.

[5554283]

Man I hated priming the circuit when i worked for GE wind energy... thats the reason why...

[dannyday58218195]

see, now i know NOTHING bout this sorta stuff. but this is the sorta stuff that i actually find more scary than crappy hollywood films.

its real for one thing. but its a guy doin his everyday job, and boom! no one expects it.

did the poor guy die :( i hope not but i somehow dont think he survived :(

imagine...the idea that your last thought coulda been "after this its my break, then i can have a sneaky joint and im gonna be blaz...." dead.

i can never imagine that...

[yes333yes]

fatality!?

[2857310]

to more info refer to NFPA

[mechanicwarrior20]

I remember I had a close call one time working a commerical air- handler 575 VAC 3 phase.

I took my meter leads and was measuring the loadside of the contactor for a 30HP 3 phase induction motor when I slipped and hit the 120 Vac contactor coil.

Luckily I had my other lead to ground because if not, I may not be telling you this story.

[thejimm2009]

One of my first jobs was working for an electrician when I @19...you CANNOT be complacent around it...and this is why.

[askmagus]

Pretty much, the guy was vapourised... Painful, and quicker than some deaths... However no-one deserves to go like this =V_V=

[thelightguy1]

No precautions, No benefits. Why wear safety or grounded appeal? This is why!!

[Bullzeye95]

Yes, the guy died. And no, he wasn't wearing proper PPE.

Wear a blast suit or die, kids. It's not a joke, and it's hard to be manly when you're dead.

Work with a company that supports and enforces full blast gear while racking breakers on energized systems. Or, even better, one that mandates remote racking gear. I've personally SEEN a remote racker set off an arc flash. We all instantly realized why we had to go through the trouble.

[tortex088]

Blast suit? Are you serious?

[genesis1357]

not really a 'blast suit'. it's not like something you would see an EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) tech wearing. in this case, a blast suit is a electrically insulated, fire retardant suit to protect someone from an arc flash, not an IED.

[rossiccio4eva]

yikes, ouch.

[twocrumzz]

i seen this in school when i was in a electrition safety class for the power plant i work for if i remember right the guy died and was not wearing the right safety protection etc

[Telepcanin]

Lol wtf ?!

[Caelestis26]

is the guy still live?

[CHErUPb]

I was burnt by the arc(380 V) two weeks ago. Im a lucky guy and still alife. But it took only 2-3 seconds to get third-degree burns of my hands. Electricity is a amazing but dangerous thing.

[Bullzeye95]

@CHErUPb Wow man...yes, you are indeed lucky. I'm sorry you had to learn the hard way.

It's easy to forget how powerful the systems we work on are. But high voltage juice is no joke. A split-second's worth of inattention will scar you horribly for life or end your life altogether.

Bottom line: don't work on live systems without PPE. If your supervisor tells you to, tell him you're going to call OSHA because your life is worth more than his bottom line. Real simple.

[bait28]

i had a close call too. a guy was serveicing our block transformer( i destroyed it in the first place replacing breakers cause some had worn out) and he was testing the lines in when he shorted the 480 VAC in and it completley exploded. he was alomost killed but only was extremmely injured, it threw me off to the side and in the grass. 2 mins later fire dept was there and an abulance. they said the guy servicing was lucky and so was i. that we wern't killed.

[bartlebybartleby]

poor man

[dallosr]

was in colombia, barrancabermeja,

[moztecka]

Should has checked for stored residual energy. "TOASTY"

[genesis1357]

wouldnt have helped. he was racking a live bus, and the insulation between the phases got damp and shorted out.

[watmonki]

Well from what I seen, opening any switch is dangerous and I feel it should always be remotely operated. I thought arc flashes were always supposed to happen, but just "contained" under typical & low loads?

[fishwilson51]

your an idiot he was racking in a breaker that obviously is shorted across phases for this to happen.

[watmonki]

Its obvious? not nearly is obvious as your insult of calling someone an idiot though tough guy. lol. Dont treat others foul for no reason. Perhaps you have a troubled life, or arent considered much amongst others. Does it make you feel good being an ass towards others?...lol, some people are such children.

[FireAlarmMan458]

amen

[Besiktasimoley]

anyone knows the manufacturer?? look like abb??

[Punkkid80]

no. its the shitty GE SELA breakers.......

[fishwilson51]

its an old school breaker they dont make them anymore like that

[MajorAssplay]

holy shit he caught on fire.

I hope he stopped, dropped and rolled

[genesis1357]

dude... show some respect man.

[HighVoltage4562]

lmao he was a dumb ass and didn't read the warnings.. he pulled a Non hot swappable ACB breaker.. and hes a dead man, he was cooked/vaporized.. with that much voltage and amperage he was like ash..

[mardoxidee]

The Very Sad Truth.

[HighVoltage4562]

umm it was a dumbass thing to do.. you should NEVER do what he did.. it was a non swappable ACB.. i know alot about highvoltage..

[semaj1957]

You may know a lot about high voltage, I have worked with it 20 years next month. I have to agree with idiot49, "sometimes these things just happen". We all know it can happen we just try to keep it from happening to us.

[BeaVeRRoCKeT]

May I suggest you read up on - only a dumbass would rack in/out a closed switch. May I suggest 'idiot49' stop posing as an arc flash pervention trainer with a reply like that ! <<

[sw8741]

not sure if that guy made it. so much could have happened!

[OriginalSlippy]

I thought rackable ACB's could be racked into/out of a hot bus. Hmm, next time we test out a distboard, I'm letting my boss wind that sucker in.

[Rumplesmoothskn]

Most can, but if you put a breaker in with low resistance between the phases or to ground you've got a fireball waiting to happen.

[genesis1357]

according to what i heard, the insulation between the bus bars got moist and allowed a short across the phases.

[zeKiller2193]

holy fuckin shit, i was gonna build a water leyden jar before i saw this vid, no way am i doing it now

[genesis1357]

dude i've been shocked by home made leyden jars before, and even 330v capacitors. they're nothing like that.

[bait28]

thats the power of 480 tri phase. i think.

[genesis1357]

what. 330 volts?

[bait28]

no, the video arc flash.

[caatje666]

i think so.

[uopalelele]

did he die?

[bigdougo]

yes

[Slikhedgehog]

This was taken from an accident in 2006 at the refineria Barranca Ecopetrol in Bogota, Colombia. Both men died. One was burnt and the other died of toxic smoke inhalation. He was a contractor and the breaker kept tripping. Can't remember the rest of the details.

[randomwords7007]

Burnt or vaporized? You can't even see him after the accident.

[djmarabo]

ok this is what ive heard about this(as said by other ppl):

Happened in Colombia,Bogota. It happened at a naval pier, they were racking a breaker into a live bus after replacing the trip unit. Problem happened because the breaker was allowed to sit in a damp shop next to the pier and the fiberglass insulation panel protecting the stabs of the breaker became saturated and allowed voltage to leak across the second and third phase of this 480V distribution center. He died as a result.

[cowtippingrocks]

I've heard a few versions of this story, so the origin is unclear, but one thing for sure if he did survive, he'd have had a very terrible recovery.

[honborg]

Why didnt they meg it before installation

[TheNWCP]

Two words..live bus. Only an idiot would rack a breaker into a live bus...and what you see in the video is why. I award this guy a Darwin Award.

[kielven]

When a plant is up and running you do what it take to kkep it that way...It could have been a line critical pannel

[TheNWCP]

That is not a part of being a safe and trusted operator.....and believe me they could have shut down that breaker without interrupting power. If this was indeed a navy designed reactor.

If it was a civilian reactor I have no clue and the damn thing could have been running on the tears of small children for all I know.

[russdonruss]

You are correct--you have no clue. You cannot always shut power off. I have worked many times on live gear because the customer would not allow downtime due to loss of profit or loss of operations... Military may be different but the rest of the world (the one most of the people on earth usually live and work in) have to keep customers happy.

[No1Mitch]

@russdonruss The bus maybe live but dont rack in a closed breaker. They are not designed to close onto a fault and will fail with catastrophic consequences if they do.

[AnthraxByEmail]

hes dead man, show some respect

[tortex088]

Breakers are made for beeing rack and unrack from live bus. OFF position for sur, and ungrounded.